Jungfrau

English

Etymology

From German Jungfrau.

Proper noun

Jungfrau

1. The highest mountain in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland.

German

Etymology

From Middle High German juncvrouwe, from Old High German juncvrouwa (“maiden; unmarried noblewoman”). Equivalent to jung +‎ Frau. Compare Danish jomfru, Dutch jonkvrouw (“maiden”), juffrouw (“unmarried young woman; female teacher, nanny”), Yiddish יונגפֿרױ (yungfroy).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjʊŋˌfʁaʊ̯/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Jungfrau f (genitive Jungfrau, plural Jungfrauen)

1. virgin (person, especially female, who has never had sexual intercourse)
2. (archaic) maiden (young woman)
3. (astronomy, astrology) Virgo (a constellation and an astrological sign).

Declension

Declension of Jungfrau [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Jungfrau	die	Jungfrauen
genitive	einer	der	Jungfrau	der	Jungfrauen
dative	einer	der	Jungfrau	den	Jungfrauen
accusative	eine	die	Jungfrau	die	Jungfrauen

Derived terms

• jungfräulich
• Meerjungfrau

Related terms

• Jungfer

See also

Zodiac signs in German (layout · text)
Widder	Stier	Zwillinge	Krebs
Löwe	Jungfrau	Waage	Skorpion
Schütze	Steinbock	Wassermann	Fische

Further reading

• “Jungfrau” in Duden online
• “Jungfrau” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache